Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1887-11-10
AMONG THE ICEBERGS.
BY CAPT. JAKE HA wTHoRNE.

II am a sea tramp" said jeff Tur-
colt, as he squared himself for a yarn
in the forecastle of the Mary Malone,
stanch brig in the China trade cut
of Boston.
"Leastways, if there arc .tramps
ashore there are tramps at sea-chaps
that wouldn't make three wages with
the same timbers under them If YOU
made them present of the ship be-
cause, why, it gets so blamed monot-
onous, so to speak, and that is the kind
of critter L am.
"I've sailed north and south, and east
and west, and here and there promfs-
cuous to the other p'ints of the COM
pass; but l never come so nigh losing
the number of my mess as once in the
Arctic Ocean.
"We was in the Cachalot that trip, a
square-rigged ship, owned in New Bed
ford, and we was after right whales.
Sperm is all right, when you can get
enough of it, but that amt always
easy.
$50 our skipper would ruther take a
chance on good right whales, when
they was plenty, than 10 chase cacha-
lots all over the North Pacific.
$50 We shipped up through the
straits and got on the grounds carly
the first year, and when W nter came
! we worked down under the lee of an
island, and spent it as well as we
could.
"There amt much fun in it, but what
with cards and sleigh parties after
inusk deer, bear hunts, and games. we
managed to put in the winter.
"But tell you L was mighty glad
when the ice broke away, and we saw n
chance to get out of tho bay.
"The old man was In q hurry. You
see we was nearly full when the ice
drove us into the bay, and he reckoned
we could fill mp in two months, slip
down the coast with the cargo, and get
away in time to he back on the grounds
the Same year.
Everything seemed to play right
into his hands, and every day almost,
when the try-pots were not bus, we'd
strike whale; and twice | knew of
we had three of them alongside, and
the ship smelled like an oil factory.
"We didn't seem to mind that, for
old salts get used to these things, and
we was as anxious as any one could be
| to get back, because our lay was sure
to be good with such u cargo, and we
counted on a big time with the girls
we left behind u.s..
awe had man aboard we called
Prophet Pete. He was Cape Cod
man, long, lank skeleton, with face
on him that would drive man crazy il
he had any love OF the beautiful, SO
cussed homely was he.
"Then he was one of these internal
vision-seeing fools, and kept the men
in hot water with his prophecies.
Whether it was just bull-head luck
or what not, don't know, but what
ever Prophet T etc Pulver said was sure
to come out true, and the men got sc
they believed every word he said. And
so, when he came to me one day, Just
before we struck the last whale, knew
he was oming to me with Wis on.
"'l've had revelatit II, eff, he says
in voice like handsaw going through
knot.
Revelation be bowed / said
Whats he got to do with the Cacha
lott?
"'You don't understand he whined
what I want to say is that / have seer
vision
"Then I got mad, and said: 'Ant
what wanter say is, thet you'll sec
more stars and cut more caperi than ii
you was hit by CT, lone, il you come
fooling around here with your visions
You're Jonah, that's what you are
Pc Pulver.'
But this is important. 1 never haC
such vision before, and / tell yoJ
this, if the Cacbalot don't sail within
three days, she will meet with awru
peril. l.
"Mates, / started for that inferna
prophet, and I'll have stove in his I &
ure-hcad, sure, but he got out of Cali
lee so quick couldn't reach him.
"But he ambled round among th
men, and told his yarn until be so
them so worked up that he nigh abou
bred n mutiny; and he wouldn't stol
it, and the mate had to clap tho dar
bies on him, aud shove him down il
the brig.
"He didn't seem to care for that
either, and when they was hauling hiu
below, he sung out that they'd remem
Der what he said when trouble came.
Putting him into the hold didn'
seem to make no difference, for tb
thing had got TO working among th
men, and they was just as sure we wer
going to have trouble as il an angel ha
come down and told them; aud the
were ekally certain that the old ma
would catch it for putting Prophe
Petc in the brig.
Il didn't say much, mates; but II
like all old sailors. little inclined I
be superstitious, and / was uneas
about the thing.
cit got 30 bot That tho old man cal